McCartney biography. Active life position

A short biography of Paul McCartney will help you learn about the life of a musician and prepare for the lesson.

Paul McCartney biography short

I became interested in music in elementary school, where I first appeared on stage.

The future musician graduated primary school Joseph Williams, after which he became a student at the Liverpool Institute. In 1956, he experienced a terrible tragedy - his mother died suddenly of breast cancer.

In 1957, he met and became part of the group The Quarrymen. In 1959, The Quarrymen mutated into the Silver Beetles, and a little later into simply The Beatles.

In the fall of 1962, Paul wrote the song “Love Me Do,” which became the single through which the whole world learned about The Beatles.

Their debut album was called The Beatles Please Please Me. During his recording, Paul met sound engineer Geoff Emerick, who later contributed huge contribution into the musician's work. Basically, the authors of all compositions were John Lennon And Paul McCartney.

In November 1963 The Beatles released their second album. By this time they were already attracting crowds of millions at their concerts. The best compositions McCartney's songs of that time included "Can't Buy Me Love", "And I Love Her" and "Another Girl".

In August 1968 Paul McCartney wrote the composition " Hey Jude».

In May 1970, the group released their last album"Let It Be"

After the breakup legendary group The musician and his family moved to the west coast of Scotland. The feeling of devastation did not leave him for a long time, but thanks to the support of his wife Linda, Paul McCartney was able to overcome depression.

In April 1970 he released his first solo album, which went double platinum. A year later he founded the group Wings.

In total the group Wings released seven albums and Paul McCartney in the late 1970s he was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the owner of 60 gold discs.

In the spring of 1981, the Wings group broke up. His first solo collection was McCartney II, released in May 1980.

The musician was actively engaged solo work, collaborated with Michael Jackson and in 1987 released a collection of his hits “All the Best!” Ten years later, he presented the disc “Flaming Pie,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award.

In 2000, he dedicated the album “Driving Rain” to his second wife. Heather Mills. Two years later he went on a tour around the world. Winter 2008 Paul McCartney was awarded the BRIT Award for his historical contribution to the development of music.

He was married three times and is the father of five children.

McCartney is widely known as an animal rights activist and vegetarian. He also became famous as an opponent of the spread of genetically modified products, anti-personnel mines, a ban on hunting and as an organizer of many charity concerts support of medicine or other good causes.

Popular British composer and musician, Knight of the British Empire, winner of 27 Grammy awards, member of The Beatles quartet, founder and leader of the group Wings, and later a successful solo performer.

In 1997, Paul McCartney was awarded a Knight of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. A year later, the musician's wife, Linda, died, like his mother, of breast cancer. Although Linda is known to the general public primarily as the wife of the ex-Beatle, she was a professional photographer and the author of several books on vegetarian nutrition. After the death of his wife, McCartney continued to be creative, and not only in the field of music: he showed the public own paintings, and also published a book of poetry called "Blackbird Singing".

In 2001, George Harrison died of cancer. On November 29, 2002, the anniversary of his death, McCartney took part in an event called "The Concert for George" held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. During the concert, McCartney performed a song with Ringo Starr ohm; except two exes members of The The Beatles, the event was attended by many others famous musicians, including Eric Clapton and Tom Petty. The concert was later released in CD and DVD format.

In 2002, Paul married for the second time; his chosen one was a model Heather Mills(Heather Mills). He met her in 1999 at one of the charity events. For Mills, this marriage was also not the first. In general, she had a rather stormy youth - at the age of nineteen she even starred in the erotic album "Die Freuden der Liebe" ( English name- "The Joys of Love"). In 1993, as a result of injuries sustained during a traffic incident, Mills had an amputation. left leg below the knee. Mills willingly shared details related to the injury with journalists, and at one of television shows she even took off her prosthesis in front of the cameras - the model believed that in this way she could draw attention to the problems of people with disabilities.

The musician continued to give concerts quite actively, and in 2003 he came to Russia for the first time to perform in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Paul had planned to visit Russia earlier, back in the eighties, but Soviet authorities refused to accept the musician. A year later (in June 2004), McCartney came to St. Petersburg again, this time as part of a European tour. In both Russian cities For concerts, the musician was given central squares: Red in Moscow and Dvortsovaya in St. Petersburg. The concert program consisted of songs by The Beatles and Wings, as well as McCartney's solo work. The second event in the northern Russian capital was the musician’s three thousandth performance. That same year, Paul headlined the biggest music festival Glastonbury, which was the end of the tour.

In 2003, another daughter appeared in Paul's family, who was named Beatrice. On May 17, 2006, the McCartney couple announced that they planned to divorce. There was considerable speculation in British newspapers regarding the reasons and circumstances of the divorce, and this led Heather to announce on October 24, 2006 that she planned to take legal action against two publications - Daily Mail and the Evening Standard, for spreading "false and harmful information". In addition, her lawyers plan to sue The Sun newspaper. On March 17, 2008, McCartney and Mills finalized their divorce. According to the court's decision, the wife will receive 24.3 million pounds sterling.

Paul McCartney has been a vegetarian and animal rights activist since his marriage to Linda. The musician claims that he was prompted to speak out for animal rights, in particular, by the scene of the murder of the mother deer in the cartoon “Bambi” (Walt Disney, 1942). After his marriage to Heather, McCartney began supporting the campaign to ban landmines.

McCartney constantly appears on the lists of the richest people on the planet and for a long time remained the richest representative music business In Great Britain. In 2004 he gave up the seat to Clive Calder, the former head of record company Zomba Records (the latter's fortune was estimated at £1.235 billion, while McCartney's was worth £760 million).

McCartney has won 27 Grammy awards. He is the only member of the famous quartet to whom this prestigious award was awarded not only for his performances with The Beatles, but also for his solo work. In addition to the Grammy, McCartney received other notable awards, including two Golden Globes (for the songs No More Lonely Nights, 1984, and Vanilla Sky, 2001) and an Oscar (in 1970, with The Beatles, for the song Let It Be ). Sir Paul was also twice inducted into the Rock'n'roll Hall of Fame - as an ex-Beatle and as a solo artist.

James Paul McCartney was born to James McCartney and Mary Maughin, and two years later they had a brother, Michael. Both brothers went to the same school, and then to the prestigious Liverpool Institute. Paul was an excellent student, showing a penchant for English literature, and could very well enter the Semi-University. But at the age of 14, Paul lost his mother, Mary died of cancer. Paul lost his appetite further studies: he left to the mercy of fashionable music. From that time on, all Paul did was learn to select tunes that sounded on the radio or from jukeboxes. Again, obsession with this matter brought McCartney to Lennon's attention, and both quickly decided to play and write as an ensemble.

In fact, for ten years McCartney's fate was inseparable from the BEATLES; even after the breakup, he insisted that it was not he himself, but the group that had left him. McCartney had to endure rumors that he had died and that a double was playing in the BEATLES, and now best friend Lennon decided to declare that Paul really died, creatively, and called Paul’s wedding a funeral.

In 1963, Paul met Jane Asher (b. 1964), settled in her parents' house, but hid the fact that he was going to marry her until 1967.

Linda Eastman (b. 1942) came to London with the goal of taking photos of rock stars for an American magazine. After several meetings, Paul falls in love with Linda. A year later, their marriage took place and a daughter, Mary, was born, two years later, a daughter, Stella, and six years later, a son, James. Linda then dies of cancer. Paul is inconsolable. But one day he met a fashion model named Heather Mills, and realized that he had fallen in love. They got married in 2002, and just recently had a daughter, who was named after her mother.

After starting solo recordings, Paul made every effort to involve Linda on vocals and keyboards, trying to write something together. This was quite successful: the McCartney couple and old friend Denny Lane formed the core of Wings to continue the BEATLES tradition.

Paul has toured the world with his band; But despite numerous successes, a conflict arose, a crisis ripened, and the group broke up. Starting again, in 1980, Paul alone, as ten years earlier, recorded the album "McCartney II". AND last decade he was not left alone creatively, because on each disc he worked with the largest rock masters.

It is noteworthy that McCartney seems to be not indifferent to the Soviet country: first there was his song “Back In The USSR”, then he produced a Russian romance performed by Mary Hopkins, then he published exclusively on our “Melody” a collection of old rocks “Back in the USSR” , spoke to Soviet listeners by telephone in a British radio broadcast.

In the BEATLES, bass guitarist Paul McCartney personified love and goodwill. Only thanks to him the quartet was able to exist for almost ten years, releasing songs, albums and films. His diplomatic skills or the image of a tactful, nice man many times saved the BEATLES from fraught with insinuations and, perhaps, thanks to Paul, the Beatles did not part with the income from their labors overnight. It’s hard not to notice that he had a lyrical gift in to a greater extent than others, and always always showed charm in songs and being itself. Another question is whether Paul liked himself in this image that everyone liked; he has a characteristic thought: “I don’t want to impress anyone but myself.” This is where his very deep, comprehensive and worldwide appeal comes from, and this is where McCartney’s love of humanity, vegetarianism, and environmental concern come from.

This great musician is addressed only as sir. The whole world knows him as the founder of the Fab Four - the Beatles, and this is McCartney James Paul. Their group's albums sold millions of copies all over the world. They brought a new inspired movement to music and drove all the girls crazy.

short biography

Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942 in Liverpool. His parents were Scots. His mother's name was Mary, she was a Catholic and worked at a local clinic as a midwife and nurse. Paul's father, James McCartney, was a trumpeter and pianist before the war and even had his own small jazz band, but the war ruined all his plans. After the war he worked at a mechanical engine plant and at a cotton exchange. He began to raise his son without involving religion, since he himself had once turned from a Protestant into an agnostic. The McCartney family lived modestly. Paul also had a brother, Michael.

In 1947, James Paul McCartney attended J. Williams Primary School in Belle Vale. After graduating from school in 1954, he went to study at high school for boys, which was called the Liverpool Institute.

In 1956, Paul was shocked by the death of his mother, who died of breast cancer. Subsequently, this loss brought him closer to John Lennon, whose mother died when he was 17 years old.

Paul had an old trumpet given by his father, but he traded it for acoustic guitar Framus Zenith. James Paul McCartney was left-handed and learned to play it using the principle of Slim Whitman, who arranged the strings in reverse order. Paul began to skillfully imitate such world stars as Elvis Presley and Little Richard.

Creative inspiration

One day in Walton, Paul was invited to see John's band perform. Lennon The Quarrymen in the hall of St. Peter's Church. There, on July 6, 1957, McCartney met Lennon for the first time. John was tipsy, but he really liked Paul's guitar playing. Subsequently, McCartney began tuning Lennon's guitar.

Father Paul and Aunt Mimi were wary of this friendship; they believed that Lennon came from “the bottom” and expected trouble from him. But the guys got along very quickly and already in 1957 they began writing songs together in McCartney’s father’s house on Forthlin Road.

Paul once, while still at school in 1954, accidentally met George Harris, who became his friend, and so he invited John Lennon to take him into his band.

The Beatles and Paul McCartney

And already in 1960, in Hamburg, their group performed for the first time under the name The Beatles. There they found themselves under the tutelage of entrepreneur Bruno Koschmider (a former clown).

After some time from ordinary musician Paul has turned into a real professional. It is believed that 800 concert hours spent on the stages of clubs in this city made The Beatles group with a worldwide reputation.

In the early winter of 1960, the Beatles gave a concert at Litherland Town Hall, which became a turning point in their future fate. The Beatlemania boom began.

Until 1961, Paul played rhythm guitar, then, after being fired as a musician due to a scandal, he became a bass guitarist.

Albums, concerts and hits

The megahit that opened wide doors for them was the song She Loves You. The group then performed on television in the Royal Variety Show, a program that was viewed by 26 million people. This was the trigger for their enormous fame.

Lennon's death

After death famous singer Lew Grade offered Lennon's wife Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney to buy the rights to the Lennon-McCartney songs, since they were owned by the publishing company Northern Songs, for 20 million, but Yoko refused due to the very high price.

In 1983, McCartney became friends with Michael Jackson, who eventually bought the rights to their group's songs for 47.5 million. Paul considered this a betrayal. Now he had to pay for the performance of his own songs on tour.

Many agree that the 2000s finally brought revival, stability and success to Paul's life. Sir James Paul McCartney gives concerts, shoots videos and writes albums, and is widely involved in charitable activities. His name has long become a classic brand that cannot be compared with anything.

British musician, singer, songwriter and composer, frontman of legendary bands The Beatles And Wings, Commander of the Order of the British Empire and five-time Grammy Award winner. Listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful musician and composer in the history of popular music.

Sir James Paul McCartney(Sir James Paul McCartney) was born in the summer of 1942 in Liverpool, into an Irish family of maternity ward nurse Maria Maughan and arms factory worker James McCartney. Paul also has a brother, Michael, who is two years younger than him.

The future musician graduated from Joseph Williams Primary School, after which he became a student at the Liverpool Institute. In 1956, he experienced a terrible tragedy - his mother died suddenly of breast cancer.

His first guitar was a Framus Zenith acoustic instrument, a gift from his father, a former trumpeter and pianist who played in Jim Mac's Jazz Ban. Thanks to his passion for music, Paul was able to quickly cope with grief after the death of his mother: he began writing songs. His first composition was “I Lost My Little Girl”.

Paul McCartney and The Beatles

In the summer of 1957, McCartney met John Lennon when he accidentally walked into a rehearsal of his band The Quarrymen. Everyone young musicians liked Paul's impromptu performance of the song "Twenty Flight Rock", and this was the first step towards creating the legendary The Beatles. John Lennon taught a left-handed friend how to tune a guitar correctly, and Paul helped him write original songs.

George Harrison knew McCartney since school days - in 1954 he accidentally met him on a bus

stop. When Harrison joined them creative union, The Beatles officially appeared in Hamburg. – Long years it was unclear who came up with it title The Beatles. George and I remember exactly what it was like: John and some friends from art school were renting an apartment. We all huddled there on old mattresses - it was so much fun. We listened to Johnny Barnett records and raged until the morning, as teenagers do. And then one day John, Stu, George and I were walking down the street, suddenly John and Stu said: “Hey, we have an idea for the name of the group - The Beatles, with the letter “a” (if you follow the rules of grammar, it was supposed write The Beetles - “Beetles”). George and I were surprised, and John said, “Yeah, Stu and I thought of that.”

In the winter of 1960 they began performing in Liverpool. In a year Paul McCartney changed bass player Stuart Sutcliffe after loud scandal, which broke out between them right during the performance. Soon drummer Ringo Starr appeared in the group.

In the fall of 1962, Paul wrote the song “Love Me Do,” which became the single through which the whole world learned about The Beatles.

Their debut album was called The Beatles Please Please Me. During his recording, Paul met the sound engineer Geoff Emerick, who later made a huge contribution to the musician’s work. Basically, the authors of all the compositions on the disc were John Lennon And Paul McCartney.

In November 1963 The Beatles released their second album. By this time they were already attracting crowds of millions at their concerts. The best songs of that time written by McCartney were “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “And I Love Her” and “Another Girl”. His most famous hits came in the mid-1960s.

Later Ray Coleman wrote in his autobiographical book"McCartney Yesterday and Today":

– Paul McCartney was... the main writer of the Beatles. None of the other three could or would have written "Yesterday." Whatever their depth of talent, it is doubtful that Lennon or Harrison would have had the patience to nurture a song born in the fall of 1963 and carry it through to its studio incarnation in the summer of 1965. The 22-year-old McCartney's extraordinary determination and discipline allowed him to complete the job.

In the spring of 1965, he purchased a mansion in St. John's Wood and became a true connoisseur of art: the musician visited London jazz clubs, art galleries and listened to experimental music. The main person who pushed him to reach a new level musical style, more shocking and avant-garde, became his girlfriend Jane Asher.

When the wave of the new art form reached the public masses, Paul had already broken up with Jane, and the favorites of journalists turned out to be John Lennon And Yoko Ono. Unfortunately, few people knew then that Paul McCartney became interested in avant-garde culture much earlier than his stage colleague.

– It’s strange, but the public knew me as the “pretty Beatle”, the master of love ballads, and John was known as the “wise Beatle”, a cynic-intellectual. In reality, the situation was exactly the opposite.

In August 1968 Paul McCartney wrote the composition “Hey Jude”, dedicated to Julianne, John Lennon’s son from his first marriage. Soon the first step towards the breakup of the group was taken - John offered to take on the position of manager Alan Klein, known for his financial fraud. Paul was the only musician who was categorically against his candidacy. And he turned out to be right - in 1973 the frontmen The Beatles sued the manager.

In May 1970, the group released their last album, Let It Be.

Paul McCartney's solo career

After the collapse of the legendary band, the musician and his family moved to the west coast of Scotland. The feeling of devastation did not leave him for a long time, but thanks to the support of his wife Linda, Paul McCartney was able to overcome his depression.

– My guitar sounds heavier than before. It's all because of Linda. When we first met, she told me: “I didn’t know that you could play the guitar so hard, I like it.” And she forced me to play in this style at home. And I played. My style of performance is a little naive. There's no special technique, a bit like Neil Young. I saw him last year at the festival and realized that we like the same things - he's a big Hendrix fan too.

In April 1970, he released his first solo album, which went double platinum. A year later he founded the group Wings, which included Linda, guitarist Denny Lane and Danny Saywell. Compositions Paula McCartney became more emotional, sometimes having difficulty passing censorship. For example, in the single "Hi Hi Hi" there was a line: "I want you to get into bed and get ready for my body gun." In August, the musicians were arrested for drug possession in Scotland.

In total the group Wings released seven albums and Paul McCartney in the late 1970s he was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the owner of sixty gold discs. His first solo collection was McCartney II, released in May 1980.

Paul McCartney before last moment tried to establish a relationship with a person without whom there would be no The Beatles – John Lennon. However, they were unable to meet. As a result, the musician learned about the death of his former colleague across the stage, leading to the end concert activities Wings“Paul was simply unable to perform.” In the spring of 1981, the group finally broke up.

– When I turned 40, everyone said that it was at this age that life begins. I looked around - nothing seemed to be starting. Then I myself decided to start doing something new. I started running a little, because I had never done it before. It was quite funny. Then I thought that I would like painting as I have always loved to draw. By the age of 40, I decided it was time to go to art salon. I bought canvas, paints, brushes. I started drawing and felt that I enjoyed it. What painting gives me is similar to what music gives me: if the day is not going well, you need to go into the room with a guitar and, with the help of music, make the day work out and feel that magic. Painting is about the same. When I'm on tour, sometimes in the midst of all this fuss I take a day off and just draw. It's kind of like therapy.

In the spring of 1982, McCartney's album Tug of War was released. One of the singles called "Here Today" was dedicated to John Lennon.

The musician was actively involved in solo work, collaborated with Michael Jackson and in 1987 released a collection of his hits “All the Best!” Ten years later, he presented the disc “Flaming Pie,” which was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Personal life of Paul McCartney

On April 18, 1963, during one of the photo sessions, the musician met seventeen-year-old Jane Asher, co-host of the show Juke Box Jury. Five years later, the lovers announced their engagement, but broke up a year later. It was Jane who became addicted Paula McCartney to art and avant-garde rock and roll.

On May 15, 1967, Paul met a photographer Linda Eastman. Soon they got married. It was one of the happiest and longest marriages of the musician - they had three children: photographer Mary (August 28, 1969), today's famous fashion designer Stella (September 13, 1971) and guitarist James (September 12, 1977). The family was actively involved in charity work and declared the benefits of vegetarianism. In 1998, Linda died of breast cancer.

In the summer of 2002, McCartney married for the second time - his chosen one was a model Heather Mills. On October 28, 2003, their daughter Beatrice Milli was born. However, already in 2008 the couple broke up.

In November 2007 Paul McCartney began to appear in public with an American woman Nancy Shevell. On October 9, 2011, the legendary musician married for the third time.

Discography of Paul McCartney

Good Evening New York City (2009)
Memory Almost Full (2007)
Ecce Cor Meum (2006)
Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005)
Back In The World (2003)
Back In The U.S. (2002)
Driving Rain (2001)
Wingspan: Hits and History (2001)
Liverpool Sound Collage (2000)
Paul McCartney's Working Classical (1999)
Run Devil Run (1999)
Paul McCartney's Standing Stone (1997)
Flaming Pie (1997)
Paul Is Live (1993)
Off the Ground (1993)
Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio (1991)
Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) (1991)
Flowers in the Dirt (1989)
Back in the USSR (1988)
All the Best! (1987)
Press to Play (1986)
Pipes of Peace (1983)
Tug of War (1982)
McCartney II (1980)
Thrillington (1977)
Ram (1971)
McCartney (1970)